


Space to Breathe

by Rikkamaru



Series: Maybe Together We Can Get Somewhere [1]
Category: Log Horizon
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, MMORPGs, Takes place after season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 23:36:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17538479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkamaru/pseuds/Rikkamaru
Summary: When the rumors and ill-will toward Shiroe begin to become too much, Akatsuki and Naotsugu step in.





	Space to Breathe

When Shiroe opened his eyes, he only saw canvas above him. It took him a full minute of staring blankly at the material before everything clicked into place. “Oh right, Naotsugu and Akatsuki’s vacation.” Propping himself up, the Enchanter took in the area around him, slightly flustered when he found Akatsuki curled up at his side while Naotsugu was a ways away on his other side with his back facing the back of the wagon.

Shiroe sat up further once he’d confirmed their positions, and was considering whether or not to wake them up when he registered the rocking of the caravan beneath them. They were moving…? The Enchanter quickly turned around and let out a sound of surprise. “Li Gan,” he greeted. “When did you join us?”

“Good morning Shiroe-sama,” The Sage of Miral Lake answered back, turning around to smile at him before facing the road once more. “I joined your caravan right before you set out, but you were asleep by then. Apologies on not telling you beforehand,” he tacked on, but Shiroe just waved him off.

“It’s quite alright. From the sounds of things Naotsugu and Akatsuki wanted to surprise me on where we go, so I’m not too surprised that they didn’t bother waking me. I’m not usually such a heavy sleeper though.” He muttered the last part to himself, but Li Gan heard him and decided to add his own opinion.

“That only proves that Naotsugu-san and Akatsuki-san were correct about how tired you were, Shiroe-sama. They weren’t quiet at all when they were finishing preparations, but you didn’t stir once.” The scholar nodded to himself. “Indeed, you will only benefit from time away from the suspicions and work that Akiba has given you.”

Shiroe sat quietly once Li Gan finished, and took in the rising sun, the rustling leaves, and the rhythm of hooves hitting the ground as the horses continued down the road. And then he sighed. “Perhaps you are right,” he agreed. “Besides, we left Nyanta-hanchou in charge and the next Round Table Conference could be anytime from a few weeks to months. They won’t miss us.”

Thunder rumbled ominously at his words, though Shiroe didn’t seem to notice as Li Gan looked at the sky in curiosity.

* * *

It took two hours of intensive searching before Minori came to the conclusion that Shiroe was not in Akiba at all. A quick check of her friends list (and a mental rebuke for not checking that earlier) only confirmed that theory, and the Kannagi ran to Nyanta, fear in her eyes. “Nyanta-san, Shiroe-san was kidnapped!”

The Werecat looked up sharply at her exclamation, as did the others at the breakfast table. Before panic could set in via Touya or Rudy jumping to conclusions, the older man cut in with a mild, “Now what makes you think that, Minoricchi? Did Shiroechi contact you, nya?”

The girl calmed a little under Nyanta’s steady gaze, but couldn’t stop from wringing her hands nervously. “Well, no. But I was looking for him for the past two hours, and when I couldn’t find him I checked his location on my friends list. He isn’t even in Akiba right now!”

Nyanta smiled at her reassuringly and lift his hands up. “I see, nya. Well, in that case, I must tell you not to worry, Minoricchi. Shiroechi is on vacation, and he took Naotsuguchi and Akatsukicchi with him, nya.”

Minori bit her lip. “So...he left last night?” At Nyanta’s nod she relaxed a little, making the others relax as well. “Why didn’t he tell us then?”

“You know how private Shiroechi is, Minoricchi. He doesn’t like admitting weakness to those who depend on him, and sleep deprivation and stress are weaknesses to him, nya. When Naotsuguchi and Akatsukicchi spoke to him on the prospect of a vacation for him, it took them an hour to convince him that he _was_ stressed and sleep deprived. It took them another hour to have him agree to a vacation with just the three of them. We will be maintaining things here in his place, nya.” He gestured to himself as he said, “I will represent Log Horizon at the Round Table Conferences until they return, and will contact him via telepathy if there is an issue I do not feel capable of addressing.”

“And what will we do?” Touya asked, when Minori didn’t speak up and just looked down with concern plastered on her face.

“You will do as you always have, nya. Continue training, and ask for my help if you seek it. Try to not contact the other three if you can, nya.” Nyanta winked playfully and teased, “If you don’t listen, I might tell on you to Shiroechi.”

The others talked amongst themselves as they scattered throughout the guildhall, but Minori stayed where she was. When the others had left she looked up at Nyanta, eyes somewhat clouded. “Did...did Shiroe-san need the vacation because of the way the other Adventurers were treating him? Not the other Round Table members, really, but...”

Nyanta stared at her quietly. “So you noticed as well, Minoricchi? Nya...I don’t think that was the deciding factor as to why Naotsuguchi and Akatsukicchi took Shiroechi on vacation, but I’m sure that had its own part in their reason for a sabbatical.” Nyanta’s ears twitched slightly as he cocked his head to the side and frowned. “Shiroechi is so used to having others perceive him in a bad light that he likely doesn’t realize how toxic that atmosphere is for him. He needs this break more than he realizes, nya.”

Minori nodded sadly in agreement. She had noticed that as they stayed longer and longer in Theldesia, the way the other Adventurers who had no reason to speak with Shiroe looked down on him and called him cruel and brutal, unnecessary to the Round Table when he was the one to create the Round Table in the first place, unbeknownst to them. And Shiroe probably hadn’t noticed yet, but Minori was in the habit of observing her mentor and so saw him begin to withdraw more into himself as the negative sentiment began to pile up.

“I hope Shiroe-san will finally relax during his vacation,” she said earnestly, happy to hear that he would finally be away from all of the insults and distrustful looks though she did wish she could be there as well.

Nyanta smiled at her, but the amusement in the expression made her uneasy. “I’m sure he’ll try, but if there’s one thing I know about Shiroechi, it’s that he gets dragged into quite the unusual situations more often than most. I look forward to hearing what happened on their journey when they return.”

* * *

Akatsuki watched with avid interest as her lord dipped the brown feather quill into a rainbow striped inkwell by his leg, the nib of the quill coming out blue, before returning to writing in a leather-bound book he’d pulled from his magic bag. “Is that a frost spell, my lord?” She asked in curiosity, and Shiroe glanced up to smile briefly at her before looking back down at his work.

“It is. It’s more convenient to have water and frost spells be a similar coloration for a color-coded spell encyclopedia. The colors weren’t exactly necessary,” he admits, looking fondly at the inkwell by his side, “but it’s rare that I have any reason to use that particular feature of this item, so I am happy to do so.”

Akatsuki continued watching in content silence as her lord worked on the book, the scratching on the quill mixing with the clip-clop of the horses, Naotsugu’s quiet snores and the off-key humming coming from Li Gan. The sun had warmed their wagon but it wasn’t overbearing as breezes filtered out the excess heat from the caravan car, leaving everything as a pleasant temperature that explained Naotsugu’s continued dozing.

After fifteen more minutes of working, Shiroe put away the quill, inkwell and work in progress book to take over for Li Gan in controlling the horses and Akatsuki perched herself on top of the wagon to act as lookout while the Sage of Miral Lake took his deserved break. “Bakatsugu will not be able to fall asleep tonight if he continues to waste away the day like he is,” the ninja grumbled mildly to herself, and Shiroe hummed in amused agreement beneath her.

“I’m sure he won’t mind being on lookout duty tonight while we sleep then,” he opined. “After all, we don’t want all of this to go for naught if we die and end up back in Akiba earlier than planned.”

“Indeed, my lord,” she promptly agreed, enjoying the thought of Naotsugu’s face when he realized that he wouldn’t be sleeping as much that night.

They continued on down the road with Akatsuki flashing out of sight for a few seconds to deal with the nearby monsters that looked close enough to aggro onto them. After some time of this she determine that no monsters were in the area and finally remained at her perch until a village came into sight, small and silent in comparison to the constant bustle of Akiba. By then two hours had passed and Li Gan had moved in his sleep and was now cuddling with Naotsugu. They drove past with an easy pace, Akatsuki hiding herself from view as Shiroe ignored the curious looks they garnered. When they left the town behind them she looked inside the wagon again.

“My lord, I would like a sketch of this,” she requested, and Shiroe looked in the caravan out of curiosity from where he was driving the horses, no longer needing to be on the lookout for any of the Lander children running in front of the horses. He smiled in amusement but shook his head.

“I can certainly try but I’m a scribe, not an artist. Most drawings I make are just copies of existing documents.” He then sat down facing backward in the reins seat and withdrew a different notebook and the multicolored inkwell. He stayed in place, slowly trying to sketch out the scene while Akatsuki ensured that monsters wouldn't disturb the moment and potentially wake up either art subject. Occasionally the horses' would need to be adjusted to stay on the dirt path but that was something the ninja could do without breaking stride.

It was with this quiet concentration that they arrived at their first stop, Shiroe pausing long enough to settle the cart into a safe place before the horses despawned and finishing up his first attempt at drawing them. “Here, Akatsuki,” he offered the paper up to her and she flashed down to take it and examine it. 

It was wobbly, almost cartoon-like, the lines not stable from both Shiroe over-correcting and the movement of the wagon. But the proportions were mostly correct, the colors from the rainbow inkwell made the line drawing look appealing, and it was clear who it was if you observed it for even a moment. It was equally clear that Shiroe was sincerely trying, and Akatsuki immediately loved it. “Thank you, my lord. It is well done.”

“Now I know you’re lying,” he said, half-serious, before going to shake the two awake, neatly avoiding Akatsuki’s attempt to insist she was being honest. The ninja made a face at him but accepted his decision to move on and watched in amusement as Naotsugu jerked away from Li Gan with a cry of surprise and the Sage looked nonplussed. “The horses have despawned,” her lord told them both. “We’ll set up camp here and explore the area. Naotsugu, you’ll be on first watch.”

“Awww, come on Shiro!” He complained, no heat in his voice at all as he got out of the wagon and began setting up the tents, Shiroe joining him a moment later. Li Gan watched them in fascination for a moment before getting his own bag out of the wagon and digging a fire pit under Naotsugu’s instructions.

Akatsuki looked to her lord. “I am going scouting,” she told him, and Shiroe looked up long enough to nod at her, the tent tipping precariously until the Enchanter scrambled to right it once more.

“Alright. Once we’re done here I can fetch firewood.”

Akatsuki scowled at him. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, my lord,” she chastised, and he blinked at her in startled silence for a moment before offering a tiny smile.

“And I am,” he assured her. “I certainly don’t consider collecting wood with someone to be equivalent to all of the work I was doing in Akiba. And even I can admit that some work can be relaxing.”

Akatsuki looked at him for a moment longer, taking in how even as they stood there after a day of nothing but travel he already appeared to be in better health, and didn’t fight back the sharp joy in her chest. He was feeling better.

They were helping him feel better.

Everyone in that city who looked at her lord like he was planning to betray them at a moment’s notice could rot for all she cared. She wouldn’t allow them to win.


End file.
